The writer and director of “Halloween” tell how they set out to erase the rest of the gory franchise

The writer and director of "Halloween" tell how they set out to erase the rest of the gory franchise

The new “Halloween” movie takes a bold stance by picking up where the original film ended — and rendering the rest of the franchise obsolete. But don't relax too much. The film still incorporates the hallmarks that made the movies so popular: a group of unsuspecting teens, their stoner friend, and the masked Michael Myers slaughtering anyone who crosses his path.

Director David Gordon Green and co-writer Danny McBride, who went to film school together, have been fans of John Carpenter’s 1978 film since they were children.

"I don't think in my head I ever thought that we would actually be able to make the film," McBride said. "So, it became very real when we started walking up the front steps of John Carpenter's office, I think I turned to David, and it was just this panicked moment of realization of like, 'We're about to meet John Carpenter, and one of our heroes of filmmaking could quite possibly laugh in our face.'"

"And John just kind of said, 'Alright let me hear it,' just wanted to get down to business," McBride said.

During the meeting, Green said, Carpenter's phone went off and his ringtone was the Halloween theme, which Green says "tripped him back" — to both his own neuroses and his memories of the film.

“It's fun to be able to have that relationship with characters that you've grown up and known in another capacity,” says Green.

Their writing process also involved a lot of reality checks.

“As a fan I think it took awhile just to kind of get over that and feel a little bit of ownership over it and not like you were just creating like fan-fiction,” McBride explains.

VICE News went behind the scenes with the pair to break down their retelling of a gory yet classic story, including how they made Michael's mask look historically accurate — and what it was like seeing him eating nachos at craft services in between takes.